Arbuthnot Commercial ABL completes £7m refinance deal with Procam Take 2

By Bridging Loan Directory 23rd March 2021

Procam Take 2, Europe’s largest digital cinematography and motion picture equipment hire company, has secured a £7m refinance facility from Arbuthnot Commercial Asset Based Lending (“ABL”) to generate ongoing working capital for new projects, in addition to further CapEx investment in equipment to fulfil demand as the business grows.

The complete facility comprised of an invoice discounting line, a plant and machinery revolver and a CBILS term loan. BTG Debt Advisory ran a competitive process and Arbuthnot Commercial ABL was selected to complete the transaction.

Procam Take 2 is a market leader in the fast-growing sector and required recapitalisation due to the impact of the Coronavirus-related industry shutdown.

London-based private equity investment firm, Inspirit Capital partnered with the management team to purchase the business in September 2020 and recapitalise the balance sheet, leaving it well-positioned to take advantage of the attractive long-term sector dynamics.

With offices in both the UK and US, Procam Take 2 has been supplying professional equipment to the TV and film sector throughout the UK and internationally for more than 30 years.

Procam Take 2 supports major productions across a multitude of genres, including music, live events and streaming to commercials, feature films, drama, reality, fixed rig, and factual television.

Will Stamp, Partner at Inspirit Capital, said:

“What was great about Arbuthnot Commercial ABL on this deal was their commercial and transparent approach, as well as their ability to look at the long-term opportunities for the business.

They got to grips with the dynamics of the sector very quickly and structured a deal to match the company’s requirements.

Their ability to work to a very accelerated timeframe also stood out. As always, deliverability is key and Arbuthnot Commercial ABL did exactly what they said they would.”

This was a complex deal and would not have suited every asset-based lender. The transaction involved multiple stakeholders, including numerous Hire Purchase companies, as well as an asset mix geared towards P&M, rather than receivables.

With the new working capital line from Arbuthnot Commercial ABL, Procam Take 2 is ideally placed to take advantage of the organic and inorganic opportunities that will arise in the future.”

Andrew Rutherford, Commercial Director at Arbuthnot Commercial ABL, said:

“Procam Take 2 is a leading operator in a growing and exciting market and is poised to benefit from the unprecedented pent up demand for content from Netflix, Amazon and Apple as we prepare to emerge from lockdown.

The majority of UK studio space has already been fully booked for 2021 and the future looks extremely bright. We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with Will and the team at Inspirit Capital on this transaction.”